[CHANGES] The Reasonable Diet

[Sandra Ahten]

Well after years of dishing out the advice -- I’m finally taking YOUR 
advice. After much urging from many folks I’ve decided to write a book. I’m 
15,000 words into it and really enjoying the process. The book title is “The 
Reasonable Diet.”

Here is a little glimpse of the basic premise.
I am reclaiming the word diet. Everyone has to figure out how they are going 
to acquire food, and how they are going to prepare it. For most of us this 
means which restaurant to choose or what to pack for lunch. It means how to 
cook with less oil and how to resist the sugar.  For some it means how to 
find a job that pays enough to feed the family. For others, how to plant the 
crops and keep them free from bugs. For a privileged few, it means how to 
hire a chef that will cooperate with their personal trainer. To be certain – 
to be human is to be on a diet.

With the Reasonable Diet, you choose a Base Diet from one of the following 
four choices:
--a “prescribed diet” that you are already familiar with  (such as Weight 
Watchers, Carbohydrate Addicts Diet, etc)
--a “prescribed diet” that you have been wanting to check out
--a custom plan devised from my Reasonable Diet check off list
- a custom plan based on how you know you want to eat (and just haven’t been 
doing it)
But, the most important element is not what Base Plan you start with – it is 
that you regularly evaluate what is working and what is not, and make 
adjustments accordingly. This is called reassessment.  You look at your 
Know-How (the skills that you have to meet the challenges of the week) and 
your Motivation Level and then determine a reasonable expectation level for 
yourself.
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Well this is a little glimpse, but hopefully something you'll consider -- 
because it really is true that we ARE all on a diet. Is your diet going to 
get you where you want to go in 2005?

Thanks again for all the encouragement I have received from so many of you 
over the past several years. I’ll keep you updated on the progress!

I am still facilitating my “Changes” diet support groups. These folks are 
the guinea pigs for my book – and I have to say, successful guinea pigs they 
are. If you would like to join us we are accepting new member beginning next 
week in the following classes:
Tuesday, 10am check-in, 10:30 – 11:30am group
Tuesday, 6:45pm check-in, 7:00 – 8pm group (new group)
Saturday, 9am check-in, 9:30-10:30am group
There is still a waiting list for the Tuesday 5pm group as we have 13 people 
maximum enrollment in each class.

The cost for the groups is $18 per week for 5 weeks ($90), or $15 per week 
for 10 weeks ($150). There are a few sliding scale positions open for those 
who have need.
The groups are held in the Lincoln Building, 44 E. Main Street in downtown 
Champaign.
I’m hoping you had a wonderful Holiday Season and that our paths will cross 
in 2005.

Sincerely,
Sandra Ahten